Dallas DA John Creuzot ends grand jury double standard between police and civilians

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said Tuesday he will end a double standard when his prosecutors present criminal cases to grand juries. Crezuot acknowledged earlier this month that prosecutors don’t recommend whether police officers should be indicted. Now, Creuzot said, prosecutors will no longer make such recommendations in any criminal case. The policy change comes weeks after Creuzot admitted that prosecutors sometimes make recommendations for civilians but were prohibited from doing so in cases where officers are suspected of a crime. “We are striving for consistency across the board,” Creuzot said Tuesday. The policy deviates from a common practice among prosecutors, not just in Texas, of asking grand jury panels to vote in favor of their recommendation.

Dallas civil rights lawyer David Henderson called Creuzot’s decision mind-blowing, saying it raises serious questions about whether he’s using the secret grand jury system as political cover. “I’ve never worked with a prosecutor who’s afraid of making recommendations to grand juries,’' said Henderson, a former Bexar County prosecutor. “He’s Dallas’ chief law enforcement officer, and he’s not willing to make recommendations to prosecute on behalf of the people who elected him?’’ Henderson said the ethical approach would be to do the reverse: make recommendations for both civilians and police officers. Former Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk instituted a policy that prohibited prosecutors from asking a grand jury to indict or “no bill” a case in which a police officer is accused of a crime, according to Messina Madson, a former top prosecutor who filled in for Hawk when she was on leave for health reasons. Hawk wanted jurors to make a decision for themselves after evaluating all the witnesses and evidence, Madson said.